National

Feds looking to send more aid to vaccine alliance

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Feb, 2022 10:44 AM

OTTAWA - Canada is considering sending more money or ancillary vaccine supplies to the COVAX global vaccine sharing alliance after a plea from the organizers that it was running out of cash.

COVAX celebrated delivering its one billionth dose in mid-January and one-third of the population in the countries reliant on COVAX for their vaccines is now fully vaccinated.

Seth Berkley, the CEO of the Gavi vaccine alliance helping run COVAX, is hopeful that bigger vaccine supplies in 2022 will help meet the World Health Organization target to get 70 per cent of the population in every country fully vaccinated by the end of June.

But Berkley says COVAX can't accept any more donations of doses unless it also gets more cash to buy syringes and other supplies needed to get those doses into arms.

A spokesman for International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says he planned to reach out to COVAX to see how Canada could help.

Canada has committed $545 million to help COVAX thus far, but the alliance is seeking another US$5.2 billion in 2022 and has only raised about US$200 million toward that so far.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

COVID disrupted needed health care: survey

The findings released Tuesday are based on the responses of 25,268 adults in 10 provinces — including 6,517 Indigenous individuals — to a survey last spring about the pandemic's impacts on health care.

COVID disrupted needed health care: survey

B.C. set to roll out child vaccines next week

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says up to 350,000 children will be eligible for the vaccine and more than 90,000 kids are already registered.

B.C. set to roll out child vaccines next week

GG inherits centuries of throne speech tradition

Delivered in the Senate, the ceremony surrounding the opening of Parliament hearkens back to a struggle in 1642 in the English House of Commons between an unpopular King and his MPs.

GG inherits centuries of throne speech tradition

Need to prepare for more extreme weather: Blair

Blair says it's still too early to estimate how much it will cost to fix all the damage caused by the atmospheric river that hit B.C. earlier this month. The storm dropped nearly 300 mm of rain on some communities in southern B.C. in less than two days, washing out major highways and rail lines, and triggering mudslides that killed at least four people.

Need to prepare for more extreme weather: Blair

Ottawa clarifies flood rules on B.C.-U.S. border

The federal minister of emergency preparedness says border guards have been advised that British Columbia residents can cross into the United States for essential supplies because of flooding in the province after some were reportedly facing fines or told they would have to quarantine on returning to Canada.

Ottawa clarifies flood rules on B.C.-U.S. border

Nearly half of Canadians to hug at holidays: poll

The poll by Leger in collaboration with The Canadian Press found that 45 per cent of Canadians say they will "greet others with a handshake, hug or kiss" at Christmas parties and other holiday gatherings.